Digital competence and service self-efficacy: The mediating role of job autonomy

Abstract The digital transformation of social work has emerged as a critical issue in the field, raising fundamental questions about how digital technologies are reshaping professional practice. However, empirical understanding of this process remains limited. Drawing on large-scale survey data from China, this study investigates the impact of digital competence and job autonomy on social workers’ service self-efficacy. First, digital competence is a significant positive predictor of service self-efficacy, accounting for 22 percent of its variance. Second, job autonomy is also found to be significantly and positively associated with service self-efficacy. Finally, job autonomy plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between digital competence and service self-efficacy. These results suggest that strengthening digital competence is a vital strategy for enhancing service delivery and promoting social well-being, providing timely empirical support for the digital upskilling of the social work profession. Given that the digital transformation of social work remains in an exploratory phase, future research should continue to critically examine the complex interplay between technology and professional practice, aiming for a more nuanced and balanced evaluation of this transition’s long-term impact on the field.